South Africa: 'Languages Bill not worth the paper it's written on'

[Francis Hult]

The Star

 

'Languages Bill not worth the paper it's written on'

 

On 21 February, under the umbrella of the United Nations, the world will be celebrating International Mother Language Day. While the f ocus will be on celebrating language and cultural diversity worldwide, the celebrations will also commemorate the killing, on 21 February 1952, of four students who had campaigned for the official use of their mother language, Bengali, in Bangladesh. 

 

Celebrations in South Africa will be against the backdrop of our own struggle for freedom which was interwoven with language and the desire to have our indigenous languages accorded their deserved recognition. In this sense, language was the spark that lit the struggle, especially among the youth.

 

Full story:

http://www.iol.co.za/the-star/languages-bill-not-worth-the-paper-it-s-written-on-1.1238626

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